communication

Cop Life – Compassion for Death

Compassion v. Security. Police officers have the unique job of showing compassion to family and friends at the scene of a death while maintaining good scene security.  This can be a slippery slope if not approached correctly.  So what is your number one goal; compassion or security – and can you be successful in both?…

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Forensic Anthropology – Dr Tersigni-Tarrant

Forensic anthropology is the analysis of skeletal, badly decomposed, or otherwise unidentified human remains, and  is important in both legal and humanitarian contexts. Forensic anthropologists apply standard scientific techniques developed in physical anthropology to analyze human remains, and to aid in the detection of crime. In addition to assisting in locating and recovering human skeletal remains, forensic anthropologists…

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Forensic Video Production

In most cases it’s as much, or more, about the technique than the equipment when it comes to crime  scene videography. Forensic video production is valuable for showing an overview of the crime scene and should be considered in major cases. While video cannot replace still photographs due to its lower resolution, video does provide an…

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Investigating Gun Shot Wounds

Certain routine steps  are taken in investigating fatal injury inflicted by a firearm either as a result of foul play or accident.’ A fatal gunshot case presents many challenging medicolegal problems which involve cooperation among the forensic pathologist, firearms identification expert, laboratory technician and the police. The belief that an “expert” can view the body and without…

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Questionable convictions in “shaken baby” cases

The term “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS) was developed to explain those instances in which severe intracranial trauma occurred in the absence of signs of external head trauma. SBS is the severe intentional application of violent force (shaking) in one or more episodes, resulting in intracranial injuries to the child. Physical abuse of children by shaking…

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Pt 2 The Suicide Plan – Investigating Planned Suicides

The assisted suicide movement is, if anything, indefatigable. Not only is it undeterred by its failures, but it is now more energized than any other time in recent years. By the end of March of 2015, bills were introduced in twenty-five state legislatures to legalize assisted suicide. Defining the Subject Many people remain confused about…

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The Suicide Plan – Investigating Planned Suicides Pt1

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collects data about mortality in the U.S., including deaths by suicide. In 2013 (the most recent year for which full data are available), 41,149 suicides were reported, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. In that year, someone in the country died by suicide every…

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Dr. Judy Melinek – Working Stiff

A   forensic pathologist can not work in a vacuum, they must have critical information gathered at the scene by qualified investigators. It is only with this information and the results of the autopsy that a ruling can be made.  It is often that a ruling will be delayed, or no determination made at all,…

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Blood Pattern Analysis

Because blood behaves according to certain scientific principles, trained bloodstain pattern analysts can examine the blood evidence left behind and draw conclusions as to how the blood may have been shed. From what may appear to be a random distribution of bloodstains at a crime scene, analysts can categorize the stains by gathering information from…

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A Case For Professional Ethics

Professional Ethics encompass the personal, organizational and corporate standards of behaviour expected of professionals. Professionals, and those working in acknowledged professions, exercise specialist knowledge and skill. Most professions have internally enforced codes of practice that members of the profession must follow to prevent exploitation of the client and to preserve the integrity of the profession. This…

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